Hellobee

As I’ve mentioned before, K LOVES animals. We have lots of book about animals, including several from the About series and others from National Geographic and similar places. K loves all kinds of stories, from somewhat plausible plots to totally ridiculous things. My parents are avid customers of their library’s used book store, so they’ve found some gems for us over the years that aren’t necessarily at the top of the best seller lists and may be overlooked — I thought I’d share them along with some new favorites! FYI, these are all best for kids who have a reasonable attention span – D actually can’t sit through any of them yet.

1. The Umbrella written and illustrated by Jan Brett
Published: 2004
Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Hardcover: 32 pages

This book not only features a lot of exotic animals, it’s set in South America so if you’re looking for books featuring minority kids (that aren’t explicitly about race, etc.) this is a great choice. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is cute – a little boy goes out to the rain forest looking for animals, but they all hide in his umbrella instead. Jan Brett has other books on that same theme: 2. The Mitten (1996) and 3. The Hat (1997). She has written many other books, and has a ton of coloring, video and activity pages on her website.

The Umbrella

The Mitten

The Hat

4. Daddies by Lila Prap
Published: 2009
Age Range: 3 and up
Paperback: 32 pages

This cute rhyming books shows a father and a son pretending to be different animals before going to bed. A little late for this suggestion, but it makes a great father’s day gift! K has really internalized a lot of the descriptions used in the book and will talk about rhinos stomping, etc.

5. I Am Not Sleepy And I Will Not Go To Bed by Lauren Child
Published: 2005
Age Range: 3 – 7 years
Paperback: 32 pages

This is part of the popular Charlie and Lola series, and it may not immediately jump out at you as featuring a lot of animals, but it does! Lola’s exaggerations about why she can’t go to sleep all involve animals doing nonsensical things.

6. Mr. Bear Squash You All Flat by Morrell Gipson
Published: 2015 65th Anniversary
Age Range: 3-7
Hardcover: 44 Pages

My dad actually has a copy of this book from his childhood! K LOVES when he reads it to him and I also have fond memories of my dad reading it to me as a child. It’s about a bear who sits on people when he’s angry at them. He eventually learns his lesson, and it’s such a fun book. The book includes an afterword from the Far Side’s Gary Larson, who says, “As a child, I loved this bear. As an adult, I’m thrilled to see that—after a long hibernation—he is once again roaming the forest of every child’s imagination.”

7. Webster J. Duck by Martin Waddell
Published: 2004
Age Range: 2 – 5 years
Paperback: 32 pages

This book is similar to “Are You My Mother?” Webster is a baby duck who is searching for his mother and gets other farm animals to help him. If you’re working with your LO on animal sounds, or even how to deal with sad emotions or going for periods of time without you, this is a great one!

8. Dinosaur Dream by Dennis Nolan
Published: 1994
Age Range: 3 – 8 years
Paperback: 32 pages
This book has beautiful illustrations about several different types of dinosaurs, featuring a young boy guiding a baby apatosaur back to its home. Some of the parts can be a little frightening (they face a saber-toothed tiger and a T Rex), but it’s a really sweet book. I’ve found that many non-extinct animal lovers are also big dinosaur lovers as well!

9. Chu’s Day by Neil Gaiman
Published: 2013
Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Hardcover: 32 pages

You may recognize the author from his popular adult science fiction books! This book features a panda, Chu, who sneezes so powerfully that he can knock down buildings. The story is very simple but catchy and the illustrations are very detailed, especially for facial expressions on all the different animals! K loves to pretend to sneeze like Chu does; he thinks it’s hilarious! If your LO is starting to get into jokes and appreciate humor more broadly, I think this is a cute start.

Please share your recommendations – we’re always looking for new books!